Jefferson High School's College Writing course is reading Larry Watson's Montana 1948 and looking at how institutional racism affects the characters' lives. This blog is an attempt for students in College Writing to take on the roles of characters in the novel as well as people involved in a current issue. Through role-play we hope to discover if the UND's mascot is honoring or, as some people believe, marginalizing the native people of the Dakotas.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Editor, The Dakota Student

Hello Everyone! I am your loyal Editor of the Dakota Student Newspaper. http://www.dakotastudent.com/ I am 22 years old and a senior at the University of North Dakota. This is my forth year as a journalism student and I hope to someday work for a major newspaper company. I chose the University of North Dakota because I have always loved writing and I knew that this college had an awesome journalism program. I also new that although The Dakota Student newspaper is independent from the college, it would still be a good connection to writing because of its funding by the Board of Student Publications (BOSP).

Since I enrolled in UND I have been familiarized with the controversy surrounding the “Fighting Sioux” mascot name. As you can guess I have received and read many articles about the different viewpoints of this name. Many argue saying they do not like the ridicule that they have to withstand every day (Mike Sanders) and other people say that the mascot name proudly represents the school. Through my years of research I have come to the conclusion that the “Fighting Sioux” name should not change. The name is used for UND because the school is proud to be outstanding and bold. The school is not discriminating against the Lakota Sioux tribes but simply proud of their courage and might. Every college has rival teams and college students yelling derogatory sayings towards the opposing team, but only because they want to win, not because of our name. These few students display bad sportsmanship conduct however should not influence our spirit and pride. UND has the best Division II athletes in the country and should be proud to represent the heroic name of the Sioux people.

Below is a picture of the Board of Editors and myself. We are proud of The Dakota Student and cannot wait to see what interesting information will come to us this year.

12 comments:

Hey local editor. The Ridicule that has been brought up is true and needs to be changed. It is discriminating, and the students have to withstand all of this. UND is on the change to Division 1 athletics. The deragatory terms at other colleges, are not making fun of a Indian tribe. They are making fun of everything that has happened to them. They have endured so much because of our government. The government should change the name if they want it to be changed.-Mike Sanders

Dear Editor,Thank you for your kind comments! I appreciate hearing your opinion on the issue. I'm glad to hear that the UND students respect their mascot name. I understand that there are always going to be those few disrespectful students but they are from the opposing teams who just want to bring down UND's team. I think UND has good students who take pride in the name. -Sitting Moose

Dakota student-First and formost, I'm pleased to see that you're taking an interest in journalism! It's a fascinating and rewarding profession. Also, I completely agree with your idea that the "fighting Sioux" mascot is not intended to be derogatory in any way. Keep writing!-Cathy Kristin

So you are an editor and you think you can tell people what is right or wrong like life is a story for you to edit? Please miss, these Indians need to be grateful we give them any land at all. We own the land as Americans and we let them do as they want on it. Now don't you argue with me, they should shut up and respect we do as much as we have for them in this country.

Thankyou for being respectful in making your decision, while I do not agree with you. I think that the name should be changed because many of your peers are being disrepectul and our past and beliefs are being mocked. Thankyou for your input and being respectful. -Jon Ekohak

Editor,You are way to young to be commenting about this issue. Why dont you just head to the mall with your little friends and quit your editing job. You have no credential to be fighting this. The name must be changed, and I am not going to let some little school girl get in the way.-Mike sanders

Thank you for your comments. No thought should go unheard. As of right now there has been no hostility because of the mascot debate. If this keeps up, then I see no reason as to why UND can't keep the "Fighting Sioux" as a mascot. If the sign of my people is not represented with honor then we have a problem. Now as an editor you must have certain articles that are disputed just like the UND mascot. If you can think of any, let me know. I leave you in peace.-Little Wing

Editor of The Dakots Student-To further support your theory that the students believe the name should stay, I would like to say how proud I am to support the name while watching sporting events, mainly hockey. I think the name is the heart of the school and to change that would affect so many people who have proudly represented the Fighting Sioux name for so many years. I think you should do an article about the UND hockey fans. We are pretty interesting people. You could maybe include a bit about the hockey team, but in the stands is where it's at. I hope you would write an article explaining how much respect is held for the name of the Fighting Sioux. I'll be in touch if you want fan info or pictures. -UND hockey fan

Dear Editor,A appreciate your opinions on this issue. As I was a student at UND, I can see where your viewpoints come from. I would like to make the point, that as you are still fairly young and have not experienced life to the fullest; I think you are off the mark on this issue. I suppose more than being young; your fault is growing up in the wrong place. I’m assuming you’re just a city kid. This means you haven’t had prolonged exposure to the Indian tribes. They are not all like their collegiate counterparts (though in my day they weren‘t even allowed to go to college). They are not all hardworking and driven with aspirations for a better life. Many of them are caught in the past and have no motivation to do anything. In this capacity they are a burden on society. I have served as Sheriff of Mercer County for a long time and have seen my fair share of their culture and I have to say that it’s not one of my favorites. I think you have to realize exactly who you are being represented by. I believe your pride is misplaced.-Wesley Hayden

Great,I feel like you have a ton of knowledge surrounding this issue. For once yours isn't just a random opinion thrown on this site, but actually some insightful input from somebody who has a ton of research surrounding this topic.

yyooooo edito,I really like your style. I feel like you have a good head on your shoulders. I like that even after a lot of research you still believe that the mascot is not racist. If it were racist, I as a hockey player would not wear it on my jersey.Porther